Rotary missile launchers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,436 "Missile Launcher" by D. R. Campbell, provide for the internal storage of a relatively large number of missiles in a confined space and provide the ability to precisely position the weapon for ejection. This layout allows the use of a smaller weapon bay than would be required when using conventional bomb racks. As a result, the opening in the fuselage need only be slightly larger than that of the individual missile. The problem is that even a small opening will allow a considerable amount of air turbulence into the weapon bay, especially if the aircraft is at near sonic or supersonic speeds. The turbulence can cause high structural loads to be placed on the missiles, the launcher itself and any hydraulic and/or electrical equipment located within the weapon bay. Another problem is the dramatic increase in the radar cross-section of the aircraft, along with an increase in aerodynamic drag when the weapon bay doors are open.
Presently existing rotary launchers are built into the aircraft. As a result, missiles have to be loaded one at a time, i.e., the missiles must be attached to the launcher through an opening and hooked-up and then rotated so that the next weapon station on the launcher comes into position. This can be a time consuming operation and may not be suitable for use on a tactical fighter or fighter bomber aircraft which require a rapid turnaround time. Additionally, existing rotary launchers are only designed for use with missiles that are ejected from the aircraft prior to ignition of the rocket motor or jet engine. No provision exists for missiles that must be rail or tube launched. U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,334, "Missile Launcher for Aircraft by R. G. Smithers, Jr., however, does discloses a rotary launcher mounted within an aircraft which aligns a missile with a launch tube exiting the nose of the aircraft. The problem here is that the length of the launch tube must extend from the weapon bay to the nose of the aircraft taking up a considerable amount of space within the aircraft. Thus, such a system is appropriate for a large bomber type aircraft but would be impractical on a small tactical aircraft.
It should also be noted that some early jet fighters incorporated extendable flush mounted pods on the underside of the aircraft which carried small, two to three inch diameter unguided rockets which were typically fired in salvo. Another approach was to incorporate launch tubes in weapon bay doors. Again, the missiles were small in diameter and unguided. The disadvantage of such systems is that the doors are extremely large, increasing the drag and radar cross-section of the aircraft when extended.
Other patents of interest U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,384, "Rotary Rack Launcher with Direct Load Path Suspension" by A. M. Arnold, U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,295, "Guided Missile Launching System" by G. A. Kane et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,447,941, "Aerial Bombs, Pyrotechnic Devices and the Like" by J. Imber et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 2,646,786, "Cylindrical Object Ejecting Apparatus" by F. H. Robertson.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the subject invention to provide a rotary missile launching system for an aircraft, wherein the rotary launcher can be easily installed and removed from the aircraft increasing the sortie rate of the aircraft.
It is another primary object of the subject invention to provide a rotary missile launching system for an aircraft that provides a barrier which prevents air turbulence from reaching the interior of the weapon bay during missile launching.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide a missile launching system for an aircraft that does not require the opening of the weapon bay doors to launch a missile.
A still further object of the subject invention is to provide a rotary missile launching system for an aircraft which is capable of ejector launching or launching the missile from within a launching tube.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a missile launching system that provides a reduced radar cross-section during a missile launch cycle.